More Fun, Less Stress, and Strategies to Prevent Burnout

Physician burnout has reached epidemic levels, with negative effects on patient care, professionalism, physicians' own care and safety, and the viability of healthcare systems. Now a team of investigators[1] from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, have undertaken a systematic review of studies of interventions to prevent and reduce physician burnout to better understand how to prevent and reduce burnout.

The researchers identified 52 high-quality randomized or cohort intervention studies including 3630 physicians and found that overall burnout scores declined, from 54% to 44%; emotional exhaustion and depersonalization scores also decreased significantly. The researchers concluded that both individual-focused and organizational or structural strategies can result in clinically meaningful reductions in burnout among physicians. They noted that further research is needed to establish which interventions are most effective in specific populations, as well as how individual and organizational solutions may be combined to deliver even greater improvements in physician wellbeing.

Where does this leave us? With lifetime physician burnout rates at 30%-40% in most studies and a robust literature identifying the need for both individual and organizational solutions, we cannot wait for more research. We know that burnout is bad for patient care, harmful to physicians, and is a common precursor to clinical disorders such as depression, anxiety, and substance use. Changing our work habits and practices is no longer a choice. We also must make our workplaces more fun and less stressful so that we can all return to the joy of medicine.

Thank you for listening to this Medscape Psychiatry Minute. Do take action on this issue with your colleagues and continue to enjoy your practices.

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Comments on Medscape are moderated and should be professional in tone and on topic. You must declare any conflicts of interest related to your comments and responses. Please see our Commenting Guide for further information. We reserve the right to remove posts at our sole discretion.